CHICAGO -- Luis Castillo, Part II. And this time in the Mets’ favor.
Zack Wheeler was spared his first major league loss when second baseman Gordon Beckham dropped a would-be game-ending popup in traffic near the mound with two outs in the top of the ninth, allowing David Wright to score the tying run from second base.
For the third time on this road trip, however, the Mets lost in walk-off fashion.
Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated PressZack Wheeler ended up with a no-decision despite allowing four runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Alexei Ramirez produced a two-out run-scoring single against LaTroy Hawkins in the bottom of the ninth as the Mets lost to the Chicago White Sox, 5-4, Tuesday night at US Cellular Field.
The Mets had lost on walk-off homers in Atlanta courtesy of Freddie Freeman and Philadelphia courtesy of Kevin Frandsen.
Wheel deal: Wheeler is going to want to forget his second career major league start.
Pitching on two extra days of rest and with a between-starts itinerary that involved joining Triple-A Las Vegas, Wheeler surrendered four runs on four hits, three walks and hit a batter in 5 1/3 innings. The damage could have been worse, but Carlos Torres entered and stranded a pair of inherited runners.
He departed trailing 4-3.
The rookie right-hander had tossed six scoreless innings in his major league debut against the Atlanta Braves last Tuesday.
The Sox took the one-run lead in the fifth, on Alejandro De Aza's run-scoring groundout and Ramirez's sacrifice fly narrowly ahead of Marlon Byrd's strong throw from right field.
Smooth Sailing: Stolen bases by Eric Young Jr. and Wright in the first helped produce two runs and Andrew Brown's leadoff homer in the fifth staked the Mets to a 3-2 lead. But White Sox left-hander Chris Sale -- taken in the same first round as Matt Harvey in 2010 -- otherwise mostly had his way with the Mets.
Sale had retired 10 straight batters, eight via strikeout, before surrendering the long ball to Brown. He then retired another six straight after the homer.
The southpaw finished with 13 Ks, the most by a pitcher against the Mets since John Smoltz had 15 on April 10, 2005. (That was the first win for the “New Mets” after an 0-5 start. Smoltz led Pedro Martinez, 1-0, into the eighth inning, when Carlos Beltran's two-run homer ignited a five-run inning and gave Willie Randolph his first managerial victory.)
What's next: Shaun Marcum (0-9, 5.76 ERA), still in search of his first Mets win, opposes left-hander John Danks (1-4, 5.40) at 8:10 p.m. ET Wednesday in the conclusion of the two-game interleague series.